Weekly Bulletin - 26th March
Welcome to our weekly church bulletin - here's what is coming up in the life of St Andrew's and St Bartholomew's!
This Sunday - Palm Sunday - Matthew 21:1-11
9am Communion service at St A's
10.30am Informal Worship with Children's and Youth Groups at St A's
6pm Encounter Service at St A's
To find out what's happening during the week click here to view our full church calendar.
Clock Change Reminder
Don't forget the clocks go forward one hour this Sunday as British Summer Time begins.
News and Notices
Easter at St Andrew's & St Bartholomew's
Good Friday – 3 April
Walk of Witness – starts at Innsworth Junior School, 9.00am.
Churches Together has produced a leaflet showing the route of the walk and containing the readings and prayers which you may like to download beforehand: https://www.stastb.church/s/Walk-of-Witness.pdf
The walk will arrive at St Andrew's at approximately 11.15am. If you would like to join at this point, please arrive early as this time is approximate. The walk continues to St Bart's, arriving just before 12.00 noon, where it will finish with a short outdoor service.Stations of the Cross - at St Andrew's where there will be reflective activities for all ages. Open 12pm - 3pm for all ages and 3pm - 4pm for adults only.
Easter Sunday – 5 April
6.00am Sunrise Service at St B's
9.00am Holy Communion at St A's
9.00am Holy Communion at St B's
10.30am All-age Celebration at St A's
Easter Family Events
Wed 25 March: BLT Easter Celebration – egg hunt & biscuit decorating
Friday 3 April: Good Friday Stations
Sunday 5 April: Easter Family Celebration with egg hunt (ages 2–11)
Everyone is warmly invited as we celebrate Jesus' resurrection together.
GTS Gateway Forum
Friday 27 March 2026 | 7.00–9.00pm
St Matthew's Church, Cheltenham
Dan Button invites everyone to this event on "Josephine Butler: Patron Saint of Prostitutes." Josephine Butler was a courageous, local, social reformer whose Christian faith drove her work.
Speaker: James Greig (Oxford-based lawyer, theologian and historian)
The evening includes refreshments, a one-hour talk and Q&A.
Cost: Donation
To register: info@gtstheology.org or via the Gateway Forum website.
Women's Day Recordings
Recordings of the talks from the recent Women's Day are now available on the church website.
Churchdown Zero
Churchdown Zero will be in the Large Hall after the 10:30am service on Sunday. Do remember that they have switched to a bottle exchange scheme.
Open the Book
Open the Book equips small teams of volunteers to visit local schools and share Bible stories through drama. The St Andrew's team visits the junior school every Wednesday morning.
We would love more volunteers to help continue this ministry. If you can help weekly or fortnightly, please contact Kate at children@stastb.church.
Church Electoral Roll
We are currently undertaking the annual review of the Church Electoral Roll. The Church Electoral Roll is how we record official membership of the church; we encourage anyone over 16 who considers themself a church member to add themselves to the roll.
A copy of the current roll is available in the concourse of the Church Centre. Please check whether your name is included and if you are not already on the roll, you can join via ChurchSuite or by completing a paper form available in the concourse.
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 15 April 2026
APCM - 10th May, 12 midday
It's the APCM (our annual church meeting) on the 10th May at 12 midday. Do save the date in your calendars.
If you are interested in standing for election at this meeting - either to be a member of the PCC (our church council) or for the Deanery Synod - please do speak to Revd John Monaghan who will be able to tell you more about what the roles involve.
The Bereavement Journey
Tuesdays, 7.30–9.30pm from 5 May 2026
St Andrew's Church, Churchdown
This 7-week course (from Holy Trinity Brompton) uses films and discussion to gently guide people through grief and bereavement. It is open to anyone, at any stage of loss, and suitable for all faiths or none.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Smith (07964 895477) or Catherine Rowland (07531 197510)
New Wine Festival 2026
28 July – 2 August 2026
The New Wine Festival is a six-day Christian gathering with worship, teaching, and community for all ages—a great opportunity to grow in faith and build relationships with others from our church family.
To book, visit the New Wine website.
To join the St Andrew's WhatsApp group, contact Caroline Lewton via the church office.
Church Weekend 2026 – Save the Date
Friday 9 – Sunday 11 October 2026
Please support our Ordinands!
Harry Bennett and Denise Wang are being ordained this summer. Harry will be ordained priest to the parish of St Catharine's Gloucester and Denise will be ordained Deacon to the RiverVale Churches (Welford, Weston, Quinton, Long Marston, and Meon Vale), with Rev Jay Niblett.
Ordination training at theological college is demanding financially but serving as a curate in a parish means even more expense. Please will you consider making a love-offering to Harry and Denise that we can give them as their Sending Church as they prepare for this life-changing ministry?
Individual gifts can be made to St Andrew's Church Ordination Fund. Alternatively, perhaps your Connect Group might make a collection for this gift?
Giving could not be more simple. The church account is St Andrew's Church, Sort code 60-09-02 and the Account Number is 69017859. You just need to flag up that your donation is for "Ordinands Fund".
(Don't forget: if you are a tax payer, your gift to St Andrew's Church can be set against your tax liability for this year!).
Vacancies
Matt will be moving into an exclusive operations role, which means we now have the exciting opportunity to recruit a dedicated Administrator to support the day‑to‑day running of the church office.
We are recruiting for the following roles at St Andrew's & St Bartholomew's Church, Churchdown:
Administrator
Up to 30 hours per week with flexible working and job sharing considered
Salary: £21,000
Closing date: 8th April 2026
Interview dates: 21st or 22nd April 2026
Permanent post
Worship Pastor
15 hours per week with flexible working considered
Salary: £12,000
Closing date: 8th April 2026
Interview dates: 21st or 22nd April 2026
Permanent post
Communications Coordinator
15 hours per week with flexible working and job sharing considered
Salary: £11,000
Closing date: 8th April 2026
Interview dates: 21st or 22nd April 2026
Permanent post
For all roles:
For further information and job descriptions, please contact the church office. or visit www.stastb.church/vacancies.
If you would like to include any updates in the weekly bulletin, send them to Adam. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday at 1pm.
Giving at St Andrew's and St Bartholomew's
Generous giving is an integral part of Christian discipleship. The apostle Paul says that giving is a primary responsibility for Christians: 'But since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 2 Cor 8:7. For more information on how to give and where your money goes please download our giving flyer here.
Please click here to make a one-off donation or set up a direct debit.
Pastoral Care
As part of our Christian community, we provide mutual support for one another. Much of this happens informally with friends within the church and through the connect groups. However, sometimes people will require more personal support and encouragement either as a 'one-off chat' or on a more ongoing basis. We have a pastoral care team who can provide this type of care. Please contact Nigel Roe (Team Leader) on 07780 994827 or Rosi White on 07426 357967.
Weekly Prayer Zoom Details
Every Thursday
7.30pm Zoom Prayer
Meeting ID:717 8863 5477 Passcode: STAPRAYER
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Contact us
St Andrew's Church Centre, Station Road, Churchdown, Gloucester, GL3 2JT
www.stastb.church
01452 712154
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9.30am - 12.30pm
Closed Tuesday 9.30am - 11.30am
Click here to get in touch with someone in the team.